Retort and apparatus in connection therewith for use in the manufacture of gas



Feb. 6, 1923.

J. W. DRAKE.

HETORT AND APPARATUS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

3 SHE S-SHEET l.

FILED SEPT. 26. 1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Feb. 6, 1923.

J. W. DRAKE.

RETORT AND APPARATUS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

FILED SEPT 6 I918 Feb. 6, 1923. 1,444,498.

J. W. DRAKE. RETORT AND APPARATUS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

FILED SEPT,26. 1918. 3 SHEETS-SHEETIS.

atented eh. 6, 11923.

.STATS JONASWILFRID DRAKE, 0F HALIFAX, ENGLBLND.

MANUFAC- TUBE OF GAS.

Application filed September 26, 1918. Serial No. 255,752.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONAS VILFRID DRAKE, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of Glenmore, Savile Park, Halifax, in the county of York, England, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Retorts and Apparatus in Connection Therewith for Use in the Manufacture of Gas, of which the following description, having reference to the accompanying sheets of drawings, is a specification.

It relates to retorts-and apparatus in connection therewith for use in the manufacture of varied gases, that is to say for the manufacture of coal gas, water gas, or producer gas, or for the manufacture of a combination of any two or three of these gases, and my said invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the retorts and apparatus in connection therewith of such a character that the continuous production of one or other or of all three gases and the mixing of said gases can readily be effected and changed or altered as occasion may require, and that by the adjustment of devices which are simple of construction and the operating or adjusting of which may be readily understood whether such adjustments are to be effected manually or by the employment of mechanical means that maybe automatically controlled according to the conditions for which it is necessary to hate them to be adjusted.

1n the accompanying sheets of drawings which are illustrative of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of apparatus produced in accordance with one arrangement of my invention, from which and from the description hereinafter given it will readily be understood how same may be modified.

Fig. 9 Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan taken on line E E of 6, 10 and 11.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown by Figs. 1 and 2.

F ig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken on line A A of Fig. 10.

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation taken on line B B of Figs. 10 and 11.

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan taken on line F F of Figs. 4, 10 and 11. I

Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional plans taken reis a plan of the parts shown by side elevation taken ing where the sections are taken, indicate the directions n which the several figures are seen.

Similar letters and figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In carrying my invention into efiect according to one arrangement which I prefer or which may be modified as hereinafter described, I make use of vertical retorts 2, 2 which are situated in settings W above horizontal retorts 3, 3 which latter extend crosswise the bases of the said vertical retorts 2, 2, thus said vertical retorts 2, 2 are open at their lower ends into the horizontal retorts 3, 3 respectively,

' The settings W within which the vertical retorts 2, 2 are situated, form the combustion chambers i with arrangements for the secondary air supply through the inlets 5, as may be found advantageous; or without such secondary air supplyunder the conditions hereinafter explained, while regenerative fuses (3 for the secondary air or other purpose are arranged at the rear of the producers '2', Y and are situated the base of the settings W and below the horizontal retorts 3, 3* so that when said secondary air is desired to be heated for use for the combustion of the producer gas in the chamber 4 this may be at any time carried out by admitting the entrance of such air through the inlet pipe 66 to the dues 6.

The producers 7, 7 are arranged at a lower level than are the horizontal retorts 3, 3 and in all cases these; said producers are never less than two in number as illustrated except when intermittent production will sufiice as is hereinafter explained. By the producers being arranged as stated and by the supporting walls 8, 8 for the structure above occupying the positions relatively thereto as shown by the drawings, the whole of the superstructure (that is the horizontal and vertical retorts and their settings with in which they are situated) is supported by the solid walls 8, 8 the outer waits 9, 9 and the arches 10, and 10 in such a manner -wil1 be understood.

as to give ample support in every direction Each of the producers 7, 7 is arranged so that the gases rising therefrom will first-1y travel through a passage or flue b (see Fig. 10) to encounter a bafile 11 that will defiect the dust or ashes carried by said gases and make them descend to a convenient place 12 where they may be of easy access so that the attendant may remove same as and when desired. The passage or flue b is continued through the space 6 which leads "in a vertical direction so that it may -'be divided into two parts 0 and c each'of which passages c and c is intercepted by a damper 14 of a duplex character or of such shape that said damper 14 may at one time cover one passage as the passage 0 shown by Fig. 10- (during which time the other passage c is open through said damper) or by moving t e damper 14 in the direction indicated by the arrow at then the passage 0 may belaid bare while the passage 0 is covered. By this arrangement when the damper 14 is in one position, the gases from the producer 7 will ascend and pass through and into the chambers 4 surrounding both horizontal and vertical retorts '2, .2 and 3,

3 while when the damper 14 is in the posi tion shown by Fig. 10 said gases will pass through said damper into a chamber 15 from which chamber 15 a pipe 16 leads to the outer end of the horizontal retort 3 hence said gas rom the producer 7 may then pass (after arriving the common chamber 15) through the valve 17 into the retort 3 and forward through the retort 3 intothe retort 2. Leading from the common chamber 15 are also another pipe and valve (similar to those at 16 and 17) to conduct gases to the retorts 3 and 2 Both of the producers 7 7 lead through similar flues b and b to the common chamber 15, hence the gas from said common chamber 15 may be conducted either to the horizontal retort 3 or to the other horizontal retort 3 or to both of these retorts as Although in the accompanying sheets of drawings and as above described I have only shown two producers 7 and 7 yet when it is desired to vary the time of what is known as blowing and running then I may have three or more such producers for each retort or each set of retorts which lead into the common chamber 15.

One feature of my combined apparatus is that I can manufacture coal gas, water gas or producer gas either intermittently or continuously and separately or combined and in any relative proportions.

When manufacturing coal gas, coal is fed through the hoppers 18, 18 to the vertical retorts 2, and 2 and is there distilled by utiliz ng the producer gas and secondary air (which latter will enter the chamber .4 through the nozzles 5 after passing through the regenerative fines 6) at which time'the duplex dampers 14, 14 will be opened for the producer gas to travel through the pasbers 4 while to the other producer, steam will be admitted by the pipe 100 and caused to travel and will in the form of water gas pass through said producer into the common chamber 15 hereinbefore described and forward through the pipe 16 past the valve 17 into the horizontal retort 3 (or 3*) from which it will pass through the vertical retort as will be understood. Or if this is desired to be varied the producer gas from both or all of the producers may pass through the combustion chamber 4, while steam that has to pass through the retort may be caused to enter said retort at any desired part as through the part 7 by the inlet pipe 101 shown b Fig. 10 and from the common chamber 15 said steamv will travel through the retort 3 mixing with the coal gas and travel forward to the apparatus for subsequent treatment in manner well known.

After the passing of steam through the producer 7 for such a time as to cool down said producer by said steam (which operation is known as the run) then the damper 14 of .said producer is adjusted to shut off the passage 0 and open up the passage 0 to the combustion chamber 4 surrounding the retorts at the same time the steam is also shut off and air is admitted to carry out the process known as blowing thus to raise the temperature of thecoke or fuel in theproducer in manner well known. During the changing of position of the damper 14 so that the producer? which formerly gen erated water gas shall now commence to blow.

the other producer has its damper 14 moved so that there will be commenced the production of water gas by the 'admimion of steam thereto as in the previous case, thus the changing of one to the other and the a common chamber while at another time they may travel through the combustion chamber 4 surrounding the retorts, I am enabled to makeamixture of producer gas.

- by passing steam into the retorts 3 and 3 during the mixing of the producer gas and coal gas, I obtain a mixture of water gas, producer gas and coal gas. If I do not de sire to consume or burn the producer gas in the chamber 4 said gas may travel forward from said chamber 4 to be used for any purpose desired. It may not be necessary at any time to consume the producer gas within the combustion chambers 4 since said producer gas when generated by my arrangement of a paratus will be at a high temperature w 11st passing. through said chambers 4. Again sald producer gas. of

high temperature when passing freely through the retorts may carbonize the coal therein without any external heating of said retorts, and this effect may also be carried out when water gas is generated in the producers and passed through the retorts.

I may make use of my apparatus for the manufacture of hydrogen by arranging the retorts 3, 3 to receive charges of iron or iron ore to be'heated by producer gas consumed in the chambers 4. Steam or water gas is then passed through the retort in contact with the iron ore and hydrogen is liberated as will be understood.

When the process of blowing is adjusted to be of an equal duration to the process of running I arrange the intensity of said blow to be only sufficient during the first part of same as to produce appropriate producer gas until nearly reaching the end of such blow when I may intensify same in order to prepare the fire ready for the run, hence during the first part of the blow the producer gas may be conducted to the chambers 4 and there consumed or it may be conducted through said chambers 4 unconsumed and forward to be used for steam generating or other purposes.

It is obvious that if desired I can car-v buret any of the gases for the purpose of increasing their illuminating properties.

It will be observed that in the arrangement of the retorts and the several arts of the apparatus in connection therewlth as is hereinbefore described, the coke resulting from the distillation of the coal in the retorts has to be discharged from the horizontal portion of said retorts, so that part of said coke may enter the generators or may be taken away for other purposes. Further than this employment of complicated valve or damper devices is avoided and by the simple operation of the duplex valves 14. 14 each of which is adjusted by one movement, the controlling of the gases from the generators is regulated as desired.

Such being the nature and object of my said invention, what I claim is In combination with a vertical retort, two gas producers adjoining said retort, a chamber surrounding the retort, a chamber common to and intervening between the retort and the producers, a passage leading from each of said gas producers to said common chamber, and another passage leading from said common chamber to the chamber surrounding the vertical retort, and a duplex valve mounted between each of the producers and the said com'mon chamber, substantially as herein specified.

JONAS WrLrero DRAKE. 

